History buffs will appreciate Martin’s vivid accounts of notorious American antiheroes like John Brown, Jesse James, and William Quantrill. Poetic detail breathes life into the skirmishes: “Three men on horseback trailed bolts of calico behind them in a cascading stream of color as they raced through the main street.” As a character, Jabez’s role is to bear witness to violence, and save for his moral indecision he’s not especially compelling, especially as shifts in viewpoints over a half-dozen characters distance us from his plight. Nonetheless, these multiple perspectives and strong period dialogue paint a thorough picture of the secessionist struggle.
What this book does best is expose the depraved tactics of fighters on both the Union and Confederate sides: Bushwhackers dressed in Union uniforms earn a farmer’s trust before murdering him; men take part in revenge-driven ambushes; hostage-taking is rampant, and more. The Bushwhackers’ pro-Union counterparts, the antislavery Jayhawkers, may be on the right side of history but prove no more pure. Jabez’s story of being captive among sociopaths in a bloody war of attrition stirs sympathy for all involved, both victims and indoctrinated perpetrators. American history fiction fans will value Martin’s transporting look at an era of terror.
Takeaway: A vivid dramatization of the turbulent “Bleeding Kansas” period of American strife that will fascinate history buffs.
Great for fans of: Daniel Woodrell’s Ride with the Devil, Jim R. Woolard’s When the Missouri Ran Red.
Production grades
Cover: N/A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
